Genthe (1869-1942), in his autobiography, "As I Remember" (1936), is the chief source of information about his life. In it, he recounts a cosmopolitan upbringing in Berlin, Frankfurt, Korbach and Hamburg. His father, Hermann Genthe, was a professor of Latin and Greek and, later in life, founded and served as director of a gymnasium or preparatory school.
Under his father's tutelage, young Arnold grew up well versed in topics from poetry to classical literature and was also an accomplished horseman. His father died when Genthe was 17, prompting his mother to take in foreign visitors as boarders. Genthe liked to say that he and his brothers learned 15 different modern and ancient languages between them.
Genthe wished to become an artist. However, the distinguished German painter Adolph Menzel, his mother's cousin, discouraged the youth from studying art. Hoping to instead pursue a teaching career like that of his father, Genthe entered the university in Jena, where he earned a doctorate in classical philology and completed a dictionary of German slang.
Genthe's studies included a year in Berlin and further study of French literature and art history at the Sorbonne before returning to Hamburg. In 1895 he accepted an offer to tutor the young son of Baron F. Heinrich von Schroeder when the family moved to San Francisco. Thus began a new life for Genthe in America.
Genthe's first photographs were made while in the employ of the von Schroeders to illustrate his letters home. With a hand-held camera fitted with a Zeiss lens, he wandered the streets of San Francisco. Like other amateurs, he soon joined the city's camera club to gain access to better equipment and the use of a studio for portraiture. Shown here are Genthe and one of his cameras.
Genthe became involved in photography at a crucial juncture in the history of the medium. The introduction of the handheld camera and easier methods for development and printing encouraged many people to try photography: casual amateurs, serious amateurs interested in photography as art, professional photographers and commercial photographers. Genthe's career bridged these different spheres. He began as an amateur, but soon moved into professional work. He exhibited with art photographers and published his photographs in books and popular magazines. You can read more about Genthe's life and career in the Prints and Photographs Division's Web pages devoted to this extraordinary photographer.
